Starbucks to offer free, no registration wi-fi beginning July 1

Of course, most independent coffee shops have long offered free, no-registration wireless. What Starbucks is touting is content that it says you won't get anywhere else. || Read "Starbucks: Free Wi-FI at 6,700 U.S. stores" || Read "Free Wi-Fi is just a small part of Starbucks' plan" || Jump to the second page of comments.

Comments

[Coffee Soldier]

Well said Wifi Fan and Free Refill!

[Jim McDermot]

Starbucks may be giving customers free WiFi but........along with that July 1 freebie for customers Starbucks in now LOWERING the hourly rate of pay (starting July 1) for all new baristas. The ramp in pay for the DC area, $8 to start and $8.60 after six months goes down to $8.55 after six months. That extra nickel is just too much for Howie and Co to cough up if they are going to be giving away free WiFi to all the poor folk coming to Starbucks.
One more shining example of how Starbucks takes care of everyone but those who work there.

[gc]

@Posted by: Jim McDermot | June 15, 2010 at 02:54 PM

It's almost like an entry-level barista job isn't a feasible, lucrative career that one should be in for too long or rely on for long-term prospects in regards to garnering affluence and personal wealth.

It's a starter job... one that one takes in high school or college to get by. Most take it for spending money, parents forcing the child to get a job and "be responsible" or for health insurance. It's not meant to pay for your rent, car payment, insurance, three children and general personal spending.

Have some initiative, show some motivation and invest in yourself. Go find a true career where you are respected enough for your knowledge and experience and where your pay shows that respect.

It's also about having some respect for yourself, too, that you won't settle for a crappy entry level, high-school or college-type job.

[Bryan]

I heard its just for the 2 hrs, so whats the big deal? I think its a great idea. I am sick of being bombarded with question after question about how to get on the internet. Its about time Starbucks offered this

[usorthem3]

@gc

[baristamclane]

@gc-- I think Jim is referring to those baristas who chose to pursue a career with Starbucks, only to be given a pink slip or bullied out of their position after years of loyalty and dedication to Starbucks when the company could no longer afford them.

[Pd]

Hey AmericanoMan
I was wondering if you ever htought of shutting yourself in doors and not contacting any living thing on earth again. No one gives a shit about you or your money. Do you know how many goddamn people piss off starbucks and get pissed off by starbucks every day? corporate pirates don't give a shit about you. i love starbucks; both their product and their convenience, but i realize the big huggy-symathy company they try to make themselves is just not real.

[socal barista]

@gc-- I am a barista and have had my bachelor's degree for 2 years now. I manage to pay my rent and all my bills (including health insurance) from my "crappy entry level, high-school or college-type job". No, it's not a dream career, but it pays the bills and I don't spend my day in a cubicle farm. In theory the job is easy, but when you take into account all of the multitasking and running around that needs to be done on any given day, all with a smile on your face, it sometimes becomes difficult.

I don't appreciate trolls like you making me feel inferior because of my job. Enough of my customers do that to me daily. I earn an honest living, and I work hard. Get over yourself.

[A Non eMoose]

How will green cup troll a thread today? Will he dismiss any complaining employees as ungrateful bastards who should go down on their knees to thank Howie for their paychecks and jobs? Or will he insult baristas for "reducing" themselves to working in a crappy job and arrogantly proclaim that everyone should just get some kind of vague "better job"? Oh that little unoriginal scamp, you always know what he's gonna do next.

[Yeah right...]

Well, according to this incredibly disillusioned article I should be making over $35K a year!!

[Barista]

Im betting that the hourly wage amount is probably skewed by non-retail, non-salaried partners who happen to get a higher wage than those working in store.

Really, the article reads like the author got the info from a corporate source, which isn't necessarily unusual. Though it is annoying that the facts will mislead customers into believing that Sbux
treats their retail employees with enough dignity and respect to pay them a livable wage.

[Coffee Wankster]

Good and bad. Good, we don't have to pretend we're the Starbucks Geek Squad anymore by helping customers log on to the internet. Bad, freeloaders. It's going to be a little more annoying to see more people around the store taking advantage of the free wi-fi and not making any purchases.

[joe]

How will we deal with those who just sit and surf all day? I already have the "homeless/jobless" who do that.

[Crema_the_crop]

"Aren't you guys used to change yet?"

SPOT ON YEW

[vegan barista]

@gc

I agree with social barista. Some of us don't have a choice in what job we have to pay our bills with. I am entering my senior year of college in September, and my parents don't help me out. I pay for my rent, bills, books, etc. with money earned at Starbucks. So YES, for some people, it is meant to pay your bills with.

[Sick, Hot, and Tired Barista]

That article was the funniest thing I have read in months. In no way does a full time barista earn 35K a year. It would be wonderful if this were true, but to many of us on the front lines know that it isn't. With the cuts in labor, forced hard selling of Via, and LEAN policies, the company is actually working us harder for less money. My store's air conditioning no longer works and the company is not actively fixing it, so my store is like working in a sweatshop. On hot and humid days, the temperature behind the counter ranges between 90 degrees and 110 degrees.This is not a healthy environment to work in, but the new Starbucks does not care. This is not the same company I started working for in 2006, and I cannot wait to find a way out of this now stressful, underpaying, slave labor kind of a job.

[gc]

This is not the same company I started working for in 2006, and I cannot wait to find a way out of this now stressful, underpaying, slave labor kind of a job.

Posted by: Sick, Hot, and Tired Barista | June 16, 2010 at 04:23 PM

What's stopping you? I mean, of course, the economy isn't good, so the probability of finding new work easily might hinder your search, but you can still search. I assume you are.

This is my point, by the way, epitomized in someone else's complaint.

If you invested in yourself and were in a place where people were demanding your work in their workplace vs you demanding someone else's workplace for your work, you wouldn't have to worry about silly things like no AC. You'd have your pick of places to go. This isn't a pipe dream -- one can accomplish this, and fairly easily, even.

All you have to do is realize a barista job for (allegedly) a company that doesn't care about you isn't a place to be. You just have to position yourself and have enough respect for yourself to realize that it takes work and motivation. Being comfortable in a low-paying job is just sad.

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

I can only imagine how slow the network will be when 15 laptops are downloading from iTunes or streaming from Pandora and watching YouTube.

[baroosta]

@socal barista and vegan barista:

Here, here! My thoughts exactly...

[Waltie]

"On hot and humid days, the temperature behind the counter ranges between 90 degrees and 110 degrees.This is not a healthy environment to work in, but the new Starbucks does not care."

My store's AC broke just last month, and Starbucks had it completely replaced and running withing a couple of days. So while your experience is sad, it is in no way indicative of the company as a whole.